Fatigued, Frozen Fitz
by emrys-knight
Summary: The whole night was supposed to be perfect. Of course, working for a place like S.H.I.E.L.D., when does when does anything ever go perfectly? When does anything ever go as planned? Fitz should have known the joy wouldn't last. His good mood would quickly and violently change into something horrible.


"All I ask is that you don't tell anyone," Fitz rubbed his hands together nervously.

Coulson crossed his arms, smiling. "Of course."

:::::

Fitz smiled as he walked down the sidewalk past all of the small businesses on the way to Jemma's favorite take-out place. Cars passed by, constantly close to sloshing dirty street water onto the agent. He opened the door to the restaurant, keeping a tight hold on the flowers meant for his love.

The chimes on the door jingled with a happy-sounding high pitch. It was a pleasing sound, satisfying everyone, calming all who heard it. Fitz happily strolled up to the counter of the little, family owned, Italian joint. He took the large bag of pasta and pastries from the nice old woman who he had assumed owned the place. He generously tipped a ten in the jar, wishing all in the building a nice night.

His good mood could not be deterred by anything. His plans for the night ran through his mind as he walked towards the car. He thought about the dinner he'd so intelligently thought of, the table placement he'd already had set up at their place, the movie he knew she loved already queued up on Netflix…

The whole night was supposed to be perfect. Of course, working for a place like S.H.I.E.L.D., when does when does anything ever go perfectly? When does anything ever go as planned? Fitz should have known the joy wouldn't last. His good mood would quickly and violently change into something horrible.

:::::

Waking up definitely wasn't fun. A wave of nausea overtook the sexy scot. His stomach threatened to reveal its contents. The blood that snaked down his neck in small rivulets was lukewarm, making him want to puke even more. He could see he was in a walk-in freezer. It was larger than any one he'd ever seen, before. It was cold and dry in the space. A chill ravaged his body, making him groan in pain. Just looking around was difficult, as it caused his skin to rub against his clothes, making his skin scream. Even the beating of his heart caused him great pain. He stayed as still as humanly possible, hoping to experience as little suffering as he could.

"Hypothermia. But you already knew that," A beautiful woman sauntered into the freezer, a large butcher knife in hand. "You and I have some business to attend to."

Fitz shivered, violently, hating every moment his skin rubbed against the cloth. "Do we?"

"We do," She knelt in front of the chair he was strapped to, placing a hand on his knee, tightly massaging his thigh making him groan against the pain.

"W-what do you want?"

"You know what i want," She stood, slowly maneuvering herself to sit on his lap, bringing her face a mere inch from his, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I-I really d-don't," He tried so hard to keep his cool. He bit his tongue, trying to keep another groan from escaping his mouth, knowing she'd only enjoy how much he was suffering. He didn't want to move, but he couldn't help but squirm under her weight, pulling his head back, trying to get away from her face.

"Ugh. Fine. I guess I'll spell it out. You work for S.H.I.E.L.D. and I need information about S.H.I.E.L.D." She came closer to his face, bringing her lips dangerously close to his. "Tell me where Coulson has my sister. He took her into where you work and told me she did something really bad. I want to know where he took her."

"I-I don't kn-know. I d-don't w-work for S-S.H.I.E.L.D. I-I'm a ph-pho-photogra-pher," He continued to squirm under her.

"No. No," She grabbed onto his throat, choking him, making his face redden and his eyes water. "Don't…. Don't lie to me. Don't do that." She kept her grip for a moment more before releasing it, allowing Fitz to cough and gasp, trying to take in all of the air he could.

"I'm not… lying."

"Oh, honey, why did you have to lie? Now this has to hurt even more," She stood, walked around to stand behind him, bringing the knife to his arm, giving him a small cut. She relished the sight of the small line of blood that formed, waterfalling down his forearm. She walked around him, leaving the freezer. He hated it but he missed her body heat. The only thing that gave him comfort was the fact that he didn't miss her. Just the heat.

:::::

"Coulson? Hey, what's up," Jemma slowed her writing in her notebook. She was happy to see the respected agent.

"Have you seen Fitz?"

"Not today, no, but you know how he is. I assume he's out doing something to surprise me for Valentine's day. Don't tell him that, though."

"He hasn't been around all day or all night?"

"All day. What… what's going on?" She set her pen down, crossing her arms and walking around the table to properly face the agent.

"He left this morning and told me he'd be back tonight. I had a quick question about something but he's obviously not here so…"

"Where did he go?"

Coulson sighed, hating what he had to do. "He was going to get things ready for Valentine's day. He wanted to do it tonight instead of tomorrow to surprise you. He said he was going to get flowers then go to Vichelli's. I took a look and he hasn't used his ID to get back in the building."

"Did you track his phone?" Jemma watched Coulson shake his head then ran outside of the room, down the halls with the older agent barely keeping up.

:::::

"Just tell me where Agent Coulson is and where he's holding my sister!" She pulled the small knife out of his thigh, with a strangled scream from the man. She took a step back, admiring her work across his body. The dislocated arm, the cuts all across his torso and what seemed to be a severe case of hypothermia.

"I don't know anything." Fitz's voice was slurred and his mind slowed. "I dunno Coulson. I d'nt w'rk for S.H.I.E.L."

"Why do you keep lying to me?!" Her tone made him flinch.

"M'not," He dragged in a ragged breath.

"But you are! I've been watching you! I've seen you go into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret buildings."

Fitz closed his eyes, focusing on his words. "I'm a… photographer. I-I came to-to America… for better… job opportunities," he finally noticed he'd stopped shivering but he, oddly, didn't panic. He knew what the cease of shivering meant but… he just wasn't panicking.

"I'll stop when you tell me what I want to know. I see you don't have much time left," She placed her hand under his jaw, fingers wrapping around his cheeks, squeezing hard with her palm flush against his skin. "Tell me where Agent Coulson and my sister are. Her name is-"

"I don't know!" He struggled, pushing the words out.

"You're resilient, I'll give you that. I have all the time in the world. You don't," She took a step back, releasing her tight and painful grip on his jaw. Sight started to feel like a distant memory as his eyes started to roll into the back of his head.

"Well, dammit, now you're dying," She quickly ran out of the room to grab some blankets. When she returned, she wrapped them around his body, attempting to warm him and keep him alive without completely bringing him back to one hundred percent.

::::::

"I sent a team out. They recovered his phone in a dumpster about a block from the restaurant," Coulson paced behind Jemma who quickly continued to type away at the computers. "What are you doing?"

"He has a tracker in his shoes. He doesn't know that but we just got engaged and I'm not going to lose him. Not yet. I do plan on marrying him," She pressed a button on the screen, bringing a map up with a blinking triangle. "A restaurant?"

"That him?"

"Should be. Let's go," She jumped up from the chair, running throughout the building at full speed, desperate to get to her man.

:::::

Consciousness was a cold, distant memory. Fitz did everything he could to crawl back to the light. To wake up. He needed to escape and get to Jemma. He needed to see her again if this hypothermia was going to do him in. He needed to tell her he loved her one last time. He'd die physically and emotionally if he didn't tell her. She knew, right? No. She couldn't possibly know how much he loved her even if he told her a million times. It'd never be enough. Not for her.

The thought of her pushed him. It pushed him to fight his way to the light no matter how much it hurt, the closer he got. The cold was painful. His limbs were numb. His clothes created a shell of agony that encased his body. But he fought.

"J-Jemma. I l-lo-love you." It was all that managed to slip through his lips as he fought as hard as he could to wake up. To escape. To get to her.

:::::

"J-Jemma. I l-lo-love you." Words were coming from Fitz's mouth! Jemma quickly adjusted herself to the edge of her seat on the jet. She placed a hand on his bicep, ready to hear anything else he had to say. But nothing else came.

"I'm right here, Fitz. I love you, too."

:::::

Keeping him alive after landing was a bitch. The whole situation was touch-and-go. His heart kept threatening to give out after the jerky landing, forcing the medics to intubate. Jemma stayed with him the whole time, keeping him within her eyesight at all times. She couldn't separate from him again. Not now, at least.

Warming him up took what felt like an eternity, but they managed to make it happen with patience and great skill. Watching him sleep became a living Hell for her. Every hour that passed felt like aeons. He just wasn't waking up. But when he did, it wasn't pleasant for anyone involved.

::::

It'd been hours since they'd been back. They had a room in the medical wing and they were all settled in. Fitz was still on the vent, much to Jemma's distaste. She kept her post on the couch next to his bed. Holding his now warm hand felt a million times better than the night before. His hand was hauntingly cold.

The sound came so suddenly. The sound would have sent a chill up the spine of anyone not well versed in medicine. Jemma shot up out of her seat, watching as Fitz choked on the tube, struggling, trying to bring his arms up to his mouth. Luckily, he was unsuccessful as they had restrained him per Jemma's request due to past experience. His eyes opened wide, breaking her heart. She grabbed a tight hold on his bicep, hoping to ground him, mentally. She spoke softly, whispering things to him, desperate to get him calm. It seemed to work for a moment before he started violently thrashing in the bed, legs kicking out. He struggled in his restraints, making Jemma terrified he'd dislocate something else.

"Hey, hey, hey." She whispered. "I'm here. You're okay."

The two locked eyes for a moment, causing Fitz to calm and still his body. Doctors and nurses had already rushed in, checking vitals, making sure the restraints were still working and attempting to take the tube out.

She kept her eyes on his and his on hers. She held his bicep and his hand tight, desperately trying to keep his gaze. The two never broke eye contact, an incredible relief for Jemma while they removed the tube.

"Je-J-Jemma." His voice was raspy and his throat was sore but he wanted to speak more than anything in the whole world. "I lo-love you."

"I love you, too, my love, but you need to rest. Don't talk."

"I love you." He did his best to push the words out. He was visibly getting frustrated, feeling she wasn't getting his point. "I love you."

She squeezed a bit tighter on his hand, moving one of her hands from his bicep to his chest. "I love you, too."

He smiled. He knew she didn't quite get it yet, but dammit when his throat was better, he was gonna tell her how much she really meant to him. How much he truly loved her because even though she could never understand, he would let her know every single day for the rest of their lives how much he loved her.


End file.
